Young Americans missing out on job gains

Why so many young Americans feel stuck in place

JonnelleMarte

The overall unemployment rate may have dropped to a five-year low in November, but the outlook grew only gloomier for young Americans who remain stuck, both economically and geographically.

The unemployment rate for Americans aged 25 through 34 actually rose slightly to 7.4% in November from 7.3% the month before—making them the only age group to see an increase in joblessness during that time period. “We still are not doing great on the jobs front and we’re particularly doing bad with youth,” says Eugene Steuerle, an economist with the Urban Institute, a nonpartisan think tank in Washington, D.C.

Economists say the increase shows that many young adults are missing out on much of the job market gains seen since the end of the recession. Recent college graduates are facing fewer job opportunities and slower wage growth than their parents and grandparents did when they entered the job market, says Steuerle. Indeed, the unemployment rate for people aged 20 to 24 years old was 11.6% in November, compared to 7% for workers overall. And the average person working today doesn’t earn the median wage until they are 30 years old, compared to 1980 when the average worker made the median wage by age 26, according to an analysis of census data by the Georgetown University Center on Education.

Delving into November's jobs report

(15:00)

Paul Vigna and Ben Casselman discuss the November jobs report, and Russell Gold looks at the glut in oil on the U.S. Gulf Coast. Photo: AP.

The weak job gains for younger workers also contribute to a dimmer outlook for the housing market. The share of younger Americans aged 25 to 34 who moved locally – typically a gauge of how many people are buying houses or moving out on their own—fell to 12.7% this year from 13.5% in 2012. according to an analysis of U.S. Census data by William Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution. The numbers show many young adults are staying with roommates or living with relatives instead of moving out on their own. “They are still hunkered down waiting for the economy to break their way,” says Frey.

To be sure, job figures can swing dramatically, making it difficult to put too much emphasis on any one month, says Steuerle. And not all young workers struggled in November. The unemployment rate for workers aged 20 to 24 dropped to 11.6% last month from 12.5% in October. And those younger workers with higher levels of education were more likely to make a move than those with less schooling. The share of people 25 years old and over with a college degree who moved locally inched higher to 5.3% in 2013 from an all-time low last year of 5.1%.

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